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They did it!
Just watched S112 of Dexter. They nailed this and how!
I was so worried that this final ep would be a bit of a down-turn in quality in order to build up to the big cliffhanger - and instead they do this! Way, way better than I could have expected! I loved the book tie-ins that they kept going to (like the sea container - then bananas - wtf?) and then veering away from. It kept me off-balance for much of the time and I mean that in a good way. It told its own story in its own way and became all the more powerful for that.
I like that the arc finished - Joss always finished an arc so that, if BtVS got canceled, viewers were not left wondering what just happened. To finish a powerful story at the end of a season and not leave some "stuff" trailing over speaks of confidence in the power of your writing to pull people into the next season - no gimmick is needed to do that. With the power of this writing, absolutely no gimmick will ever be needed.
To the episode itself - the fakeout to the sea container got me, I have to admit! But I did love the Doakes/Dexter confrontation - I wonder who *really* had the upper hand because Dexter seemed to surprise Doakes with his response. Loved the "Deb" in the bed fake-out and how symbolic was that - the first time Rudy ever contacted Dexter was with a dismembered doll and the last time Dexter communicates with Rudy is through another dismembered doll! The ticker tape parade was funny - "We <3 Dexter" on the sky banner!
The crux of it all was, of course, that Dexter killed Rudy using Rudy's very own killing room in the very way Rudy killed all his victims. That was the physical act but the emotion in there - Dexter just so agonized because this is the only tie he has to his past, the only one who he might ever be able to talk freely to and, instead , he has to do this of all things. Whether Dexter knows it or not, he loves Deb - he could not have done this without that love as a motivation, I feel.
And then there's the two setups for next season - Paul's long-lost shoe (but I did like that Rita never went looking for it because she had trust in Dexter) and Doakes' surveillance of Dexter. Certainly looks like S2 may well start like the second book. I suspect, though, that S2 may only start like that, the same way that S1 started like the first book but then became a bigger better thing with its own story and strength.
As for the season as a whole, it was a great piece of story-telling that swept along at a great pace, grand at times and intimate at others. Acting was uniformly great and so many supporting characters got so well fleshed out that their intercations became rich and human and flowing. Best thing I have seen a very long while - perhaps even since BtVS? I care about these characters and there are only a handful of shows that *ever* do that for me!
I was so worried that this final ep would be a bit of a down-turn in quality in order to build up to the big cliffhanger - and instead they do this! Way, way better than I could have expected! I loved the book tie-ins that they kept going to (like the sea container - then bananas - wtf?) and then veering away from. It kept me off-balance for much of the time and I mean that in a good way. It told its own story in its own way and became all the more powerful for that.
I like that the arc finished - Joss always finished an arc so that, if BtVS got canceled, viewers were not left wondering what just happened. To finish a powerful story at the end of a season and not leave some "stuff" trailing over speaks of confidence in the power of your writing to pull people into the next season - no gimmick is needed to do that. With the power of this writing, absolutely no gimmick will ever be needed.
To the episode itself - the fakeout to the sea container got me, I have to admit! But I did love the Doakes/Dexter confrontation - I wonder who *really* had the upper hand because Dexter seemed to surprise Doakes with his response. Loved the "Deb" in the bed fake-out and how symbolic was that - the first time Rudy ever contacted Dexter was with a dismembered doll and the last time Dexter communicates with Rudy is through another dismembered doll! The ticker tape parade was funny - "We <3 Dexter" on the sky banner!
The crux of it all was, of course, that Dexter killed Rudy using Rudy's very own killing room in the very way Rudy killed all his victims. That was the physical act but the emotion in there - Dexter just so agonized because this is the only tie he has to his past, the only one who he might ever be able to talk freely to and, instead , he has to do this of all things. Whether Dexter knows it or not, he loves Deb - he could not have done this without that love as a motivation, I feel.
And then there's the two setups for next season - Paul's long-lost shoe (but I did like that Rita never went looking for it because she had trust in Dexter) and Doakes' surveillance of Dexter. Certainly looks like S2 may well start like the second book. I suspect, though, that S2 may only start like that, the same way that S1 started like the first book but then became a bigger better thing with its own story and strength.
As for the season as a whole, it was a great piece of story-telling that swept along at a great pace, grand at times and intimate at others. Acting was uniformly great and so many supporting characters got so well fleshed out that their intercations became rich and human and flowing. Best thing I have seen a very long while - perhaps even since BtVS? I care about these characters and there are only a handful of shows that *ever* do that for me!